Demountable easel construction



Jan. 28, 1964 R. w. RAY

DEMOUNTABLE EASEL CONSTRUCTION I Filed Dec. 20, 1960 w? g r/a F726. 3.

INVENTOR. ROBERT W. RAY

IfiWPMW United States Patent ()filice 3,119,194 Patented Jan. 28, 1964 3,119,194 DEMUUNTABLE EASEL CONSTRUQTIQN Robert W. Ray, 12 Fairview Terrace, Petaluma, Calif. Filed Dec. Zil, 1966, Ser. No. 77,063 Claims. (1. 45-57) This invention relates to an easel construction adapted to be utilized to support a wide variety of different types of objects thereupon. The easel construction of the invention may be utilized to support newspapers and books for reading and may also be utilized in business ofiices as a support for material being transcribed by a stenographer.

Conventional easel constructions are usually fabricated from sheet metal or wood and are characterized by the incorporation therein of numerous parts which render the ultimate product relatively expensive.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide an easel construction which is constituted by a unitary body which may be fabricated from cardboard, chipboard or similar paper or fiberboard products or relatively low cost and which, further, is characterized by the fact that the unitary body may be assembled in operative condition without the utilization of auxiliary fasteners, adhesives or the like.

An additional object of my invention is the provision of a unitary easel construction constituted by an elongated body which is fabricated from cardboard and which includes a unitary support, brace, and bottom defined by transversely oriented scorelines, said body having aligned pairs of openings and securement tabs at the opposite extremities thereof adapted to be mutually engaged to maintain the portions of said body in operative orientations wherein the support may receive a book, newspaper or other reading material deposited thereupon.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a unitary easel construction wherein the body constituting the same is characterized by the fact that the support has a foot portion formed integrally with the lower extremity thereof and the lower extremity of the support and the upper extremity of the foot portion have corresponding pairs of openings therein while the bottom has a plurality of tabs formed thereupon engageable in said openings.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a unitary body for an easel which includes bottom, brace, and support portions, said support portion having a plurality of tabs formed integrally therewith upon the lower extremity thereof and said bottom portion having corresponding pairs of aligned openings formed therein adapted to receive said tabs, whereby said tabs may project upwardly through said openings to retain said portions in operative engagement with one another and to locate an object disposed upon said support portion.

It will be noted that the pressure exerted by an item located on the support portion exerts a locking pressure on the tabs extending through the openings or slots in the embodiments of the invention and, thus, more securely maintains the component portions of the easel in operative relationship.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a unitary easel construction constituted by an elongated body which is fabricated from cardboard or the like and which includes a unitary support, a brace, and bottom defined by transversely oriented score lines, said body having an aligned pair of openings therein and securement means at the opposite extremities thereof adapted to be mutually engaged to maintain the portions of said body in operative orientations wherein the support may receive a book, newspaper or other reading material de posited thereupon.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a unitary easel construction wherein the body constituting the same is characterized by the fact that the support incorporates a foot portion formed integrally with the lower extremity thereof, the lower extremity of the support and the upper extremity of the foot portion having a pair of aligned openings therein while the bottom has its forward extremity engageable with said aligned openmgs.

An additional object of my invention is the provision, in an easel of the aforementioned character, of an elongated unitary body which includes supports at its opposite extremities, intermediate bottoms formed integrally with said supports and a pair of braces operatively associated with said bottoms whereby the supports at the opposite extremities of said body may be maintained in opposite orientations to support objects on both sides of said easel.

A further object of my invention is the provision of an easel of the aforementioned character which includes an elongated unitary body incorporating a plurality of easel components whereby one or more easel components may be separated from said body to facilitate the utilization of said easel components at different locations.

Moreover, there is no need for the utilization of adhesives or other fastening means when assembling the easel of the invention and, of course, the easel can be readily dismounted by the removal of the tabs from operative engagement with the associated openings and can thus be flattened for storage or transport.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and the accompanying drawings which are for the purpose of illustration only and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the broken line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the blank constituting the easel of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1-3 thereof, I show an easel 10 constructed in accordance with the teachings of my invention and characterized by the fact that it may be assembled from a unitary body 12 constituted by a single piece of cardboard, chipboard, or the like, and by the fact that no auxiliary means such as fasteners, adhesives, or the like, are necessary to retain the various portions thereof in operative engagement with one another.

The body 12 of the easel lit is constituted by an enlongated, rectangular piece of cardboard which incorporates a plurality of retainer tabs 16 at one extremity thereof and which has a first scoreline 18 extending transversely thereof adjacent said one extremity to permit the body 12 to be bent about the axis of said scoreline to define a bottom portion 20. The number of tabs 16 provided upon the one extremity of the body 12 is, of course, determined by the ultimate width of the easel 10 and by the weights of the objects which are to be deposited thereupon.

A second scoreline 22 is formed in the body 12 transversely thereof and, in conjunction with the first scoreline 18, defines a brace portion 24. A third scoreline 26 is formed transversely of the body 12 adjacent the other extremity thereof and in conjunction with the second scoreline 22 defines a support portion 30 on the easel 10.

A fourth scoreline 32 is formed transversely of the body 12 and, in conjunction with the third scoreline 26, defines the horizontal and vertical portions 34 and 36, respectively, of a retainer foot 38 formed integrally with the lower extremity of the support portion 30. A plurality of pairs 40 of aligned openings or slots 42 are formed adjacent the scoreiines 26 and 32. In other words, one opening or slot 42 of each pair is formed in the lower extremity of the support 39 and the other opening or slot 42 of each pair is formed at the base of the vertical portion 36 of the retainer foot 38.

In order to dispose the various component parts of the body 12 of the easel in the operative position shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, the body 12 is bent about the scorelines 18, 22, 26 and 32 so that the bottom is disposed in a horizontal plane and the brace 24 in a vertical plane with the horizontal and vertical portions of the foot 38 so disposed. The support is bent downwardly at an angle and the forwardly projecting tabs 16 inserted through the aligned openings 42 of each pair of openings. Therefore, the tabs 16 serve to lock the easel in operative condition.

It should be noted that the vertical portion 36 of the retainer foot 38 is adapted to be engaged by an object deposited upon the support 30 and, when so deposited, said object can impinge upon the upper surface of the bottom portion 20 and also force the vertical portion 36 of the retainer foot 38 against the upper surfaces of the tabs 16, thus locking the easel 10 more securely in operative condition. Of course, the component parts of the easel can be readily dismounted by simply extracting the tabs 16 from the associated openings or slots 42 and returning the body 12 to the flat condition shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. Thus, the body 12 can be readily shipped or transported.

Therefore, by the easel of my invention I provide a simple easel construction which can be fabricated by a minimum expenditure of materials and labor and which can be readily assembled without the necessity for the utilization of auxiliary fasteners or adhesives. Furthermore, the easel of my invention can be fabricated in a wide variety of different configurations and thus adapts itself to numerous fields of utilization.

I claim:

1. A unitary easel construction including a unitary body having a brace portion and a support portion, said brace portion having a bottom portion formed integrally therewith and bent at an angle to said brace portion, said bottom portion having a free forward extremity thereupon, said support portion having a plurality of openings at its lower extremity engageable by said forward extremity to maintain said brace, support, and bottom portions in operative engagement with one another, said support portion having a forwardly extending foot formed integrally therewith upon the lower extremity thereof, said openings being formed in said foot whereby said forward extremity may enter said openings and retain an object located on said support portion of said body.

2. A unitary easel construction including a unitary body having a brace portion and a support portion, said brace portion having a bottom portion formed integrally therewith and bent at right angles thereto, said bottom portion having a plurality of tabs at the forward extremity thereof, said support portion having a plurality of openings at its lower extremity engageable by said tabs to maintain said brace, support, and bottom portions in operative engagement with one another, said support portion having a forwardly and upwardly extending foot constituting retaining means provided upon the lower extremity thereof and said openings being formed in aligned pairs in said lower extremity and the upwardly extending part of said retaining means to permit said tabs to be introduced through said openings to maintain the component portions of said easel in operative relationship with one another.

3. A unitary blank adapted to be shaped into an easel configuration including a body, said body incorporating a plurality of retainer tabs at one extremity thereof and having a first scoreline extending transversely thereof defining a bottom portion on said body terminating in said tabs, said body having a second scoreline defining, in conjunction with said first scoreline, a brace portion of said body, and a third scoreline formed in said body adjacent the other extremity thereof for defining a supporting portion and a retainer foot portion on said body, said retainer portion having a scoreline intermediate its extremities permitting the forward end thereof to be upwardiy bent, the lower extremity of said supporting portion and the forward extremity of said retainer portion having mating openings therein adapted to receive said tabs when said body is bent about said scorelines to orient said brace portion on a vertical axis, said supporting portion angularly with respect to said axis, and said bottom portion horizontally and when the forward extremity of said retainer portion is bent upwardly to align the pairs of openings to facilitate the introduction therethrough of said tabs.

4. A unitary easel construction including a vertical brace, a horizontal bottom extending forwardly from said brace, an inclined support extending downwardly from the upper extremity of said brace, said inclined support having a horizontally and forwardly extending foot portion and the lower extremity of said support and the up wardly extending extremity of said foot portion having pairs of aligned openings therein, said bottom having horizontally extending tabs engageable in said pairs of aligned openings.

5. An easel construction including a brace, a hori-' zontal bottom extending forwardly from said brace, and an inclined support extending downwardly from the upper extremity of said brace, said inclined support having a horizontally and forwardly extending foot portion and the lower extremity of said support and the upwardly extending extremity of said foot portion having pairs of aligned openings therein, said bottom having horizontally extending tabs engageable in said pairs of aligned openlngs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,315,516 Korfist Sept. 9, 1919 2,726,835 Hummel Dec. 13, 1955 2,784,929 Diening Mar. 12, 1957 

5. AN EASEL CONSTRUCTION INCLUDING A BRACE, A HORIZONTAL BOTTOM EXTENDING FORWARDLY FROM SAID BRACE, AND AN INCLINED SUPPORT EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE UPPER EXTREMITY OF SAID BRACE, SAID INCLINED SUPPORT HAVING A HORIZONTALLY AND FORWARDLY EXTENDING FOOT PORTION AND THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF SAID SUPPORT AND THE UPWARDLY EXTENDING EXTREMITY OF SAID FOOT PORTION HAVING PAIRS OF ALIGNED OPENINGS THEREIN, SAID BOTTOM HAVING HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING TABS ENGAGEABLE IN SAID PAIRS OF ALIGNED OPENINGS. 